


In the Freefall

by Operator Yaku (TheHonkmaster)



Series: Infestation Series [6]
Category: Warframe
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Other, brief description of gunshot wound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 12:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13717788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHonkmaster/pseuds/Operator%20Yaku





	In the Freefall

The sharp edge of Grineer armor biting into skin. The scent of burning flesh, of gunpowder, of a mission gone wrong – going wrong. The shuddering breaths sucked in between clenched teeth. Blood spilling from a bullet hole in the wrong person.

How the hell did they get into this situation?

Yaku’ readjusted their grip on the back of Huon’s armor and  _pulled._ The slow movement was accompanied by a scrape and their cognitive relay flickered from the strain. “You can use your legs, you know,” they grunted. “Taking a bullet to the stomach doesn’t take your legs out of the equation, too.”

Huon said nothing, his gaze locked on the door in the far wall, gun held ready for the next Grineer to step through. Yaku’ pulled again and he pushed against the ground with a soft groan to help; the door slid open and in the space between one breath and the next, the unlucky lancer running through it dropped to the ground, dead.

“Why did you let yourself get shot?” they murmured, dragging the massive Meridian behind a low wall and crouching to help him search his armor for the makeshift first aid kit.

“Would’ve hit you,” Huon grunted as he handed them the equipment. “Could’ve done a lot worse. You’re distracted; last night got to you more than I thought.”

Yaku’ glanced up at him with a frown, then got to work.

——————————————————————————————

**The previous night.**

“Tenno?  _Tenno._  Wake up.  _Wake up.”_

“What do you  _want?”_  Yaku’ hissed groggily, propping themself up on their arm as they twisted to look at the Grineer in bed with them. “Why are you  _bothering_ me? Don’t tell me you want to go another round. You have a hand; use it.”

The soft glow of their photic channels illuminated a concerned face – a face Yaku’ hadn’t seen Huon make before. Their cyan channels brightened and dimmed with their breathing and the light shifted with them as the silence stretched between the pair.

Huon lifted his hand slowly and touched the side of their neck. His fingers brushed the violet channel that ran up behind their ear and they flinched away, already feeling the desire blooming. “Don’t touch–”

“Your heart,” he whispered hoarsely, “it almost  _stopped._ I was c–” Huon caught himself, inhaling deeply through his nose and closing his eyes. When he opened them again he moved his hand to rest on their shoulder, away from the violet channels.

“It pulses with your heartbeat. The violet sections do.” It wasn’t a question. Huon watched the channel pulse slowly, brightening every few seconds at its abnormally slow rate.

“…Yeah.”

“There were at least ten seconds before each…” he started, staring at the light emanating from the violet channel on their neck, “…Before each pulse. I… counted.”

Yaku’ blinked at him. “You were staring at me in my sleep? That’s creepy and it’s  _exactly_ why I didn’t want to share a bed with you for months. I’m leaving,” they said, already lifting up the blanket and dragging one leg out from under it.

——————————————————————————————

“Stay with me, Grineer. Stay awake.” Yaku’ set the damaged armor to the side and assessed the damage. Their first instinct – flooding the wound with Void energy – was abandoned in favor of more mundane methods. They weren’t sure how his body would react; they’d rather not find out.

“Can you tell me if you’ve been shot anywhere else?” they asked, placing a trauma patch over the hole with shaking hands. “Huon, have you been shot anywhere else?”

_“Ror?”_

“Ah, shit. Alright, just… stay awake. Focus on my breathing,” they said, yanking up the sleeves of their Transference suit to reveal cyan photic channels. Huon’s head lolled to the side and he watched the light shift while Yaku’ busied themself with calling for backup.

“Castus, can you hear me? There’s a Meridian down – yeah, he’s been shot, we need to get him out of here now. Nope, I just slapped a trauma patch on it. Abdominal, so– yeah, you get it. You got my coordinates? See you in a bit.” Yaku’ closed the connection and pressed down on the wound.

“Castus will be here soon with help. Stay awake, Huon. I know you’ve already lost a bit of blood,” they said, watching the red liquid roll down his skin, “but you need to stay awake.”

“Yeah, I’ll–” Huon groaned softly and flinched as they shifted position. “–try.”

——————————————————————————————

The hand clutching their bicep stopped them from leaving the bed. “Wait, no, that’s not– It’s just that you– you were against my chest. I couldn’t sleep and your heart wasn’t…  _beating._ Not how it should. Hearts don’t do what yours did. I thought you were deteriorating,” Huon explained.

Yaku’ sighed heavily and rubbed their forehead. They had almost hopped off; their legs hung over the side and their hands were braced against the mattress. “My heart is fine,” they told him with a bitter tone. “It does that sometimes. I’m fine. Let go of my arm.”

“It’s your Infested thing, isn’t it?”

Their heart thudded against their ribcage and violet channels lit up in a burst of light, then faded. “…I don’t want you caring,” they muttered bitterly, yanking their arm from his grip.

“Since when has that ever stopped anyone?” Huon countered. “Yaku’, is it your Infested thing?”

“It’s not a  _thing,_  it’s part of me.”

“Fine. Is it your Infestation?”

“…Yeah. Look, I’ll see you tomorrow before the mission. I need to leave.” Yaku’ straightened their spine and shuffled closer to the edge of the bed, but a gentle touch to a cyan channel on their lower back made them pause.

“No,” Huon murmured. “No, you don’t. I’m not afraid.”

——————————————————————————————

The violet channels running up Yaku’’s neck and behind their ears pulsated fiercely as adrenaline coursed through their body. They willed their Equinox down a ramp; several meters behind them, piloting his Hydroid, Jabali carried Huon’s semi-conscious form. Yaku’ dove headlong into a group of Grineer, dispatching them with ease before calling to Jabali. “This room’s clear. Come on, Castus!”

Jabali’s Hydroid appeared behind them and nodded towards extraction. “Steel Meridian has a ship waiting for him with medical personnel on board,” he informed them, his modulated voice sliding across their senses like cool water.

Yaku’ wasted no time in cutting through the remaining forces blocking their path towards extraction. They left a path for Jabali to follow, nudging bodies aside with their feet and giving him space to run. His Hydroid’s heavy steps grew closer and closer until he arrived, loading Huon onto the waiting gurney and into the care of Steel Meridian. “Who is this, anyways?” he asked, turning to look at Yaku’.

“No idea,” they lied, “but he was wounded on my watch and I’m going to make sure he stays alive until we get back to the relay.”

The silence from Jabali could only be described as suspicious as he watched his sibling’s Equinox climb into the Steel Meridian ship after the injured Grineer.

——————————————————————————————

“You say that now,” Yaku’ bit out, their shoulders hunched but not quite moving away from Huon’s touch. “You don’t know me.”

“I’m willing to learn,” he said. “I haven’t stuck around for months just to abandon you when you won’t tell me something.” 

Yaku’ heard him sit up behind them and they turned their head away even as one muscular arm slid around their waist and a chin came to rest on their shoulder. They relaxed into his embrace and allowed him to pull them against his chest, his massive frame dwarfing them in a way that was oddly comforting to the much smaller Tenno. Their violet channels’ pulsing sped up with their heartbeat as Huon kissed the top of their head gently.

Yaku’ leaned into Huon and peered up at him. “If you’re so worried about me being alive, just focus on the cyan photic channels. They go with my breathing. If I’m breathing, I’m alive.”

They moved with him as he laid down again, pressing closer against his warm body. Huon sighed, his breath ruffling their hair. “People these days breathe when they’re dead, if those…  _husks_ can even be called ‘people’ anymore. Hearts tell the truth – lungs, not so much.”

Yaku’ looked down at their hands and traced the photic channels there with their gaze. “Well, if it makes you comfortable, you can put your hand on my chest. I’m not dying anytime soon. Just… go to sleep.”

A quiet “Hm.” was the only verbal response Huon gave them. He wrapped his arms around them and rested his fingers on the skin above their heart, kissing the top of their head again. Yaku’ heard him mumble something that made them grin.

“Good night to you, too, Huon,” they replied, their own fingers entwining with his.

 


End file.
